Talks to defuse Lebanon's simmering political crisis collapsed on Saturday after anti-Syrian leaders rejected demands from Hezbollah and its allies for a decisive say in government.The failure of the week-long talks could mean Lebanon's deep political rifts will provoke confrontation on the streets of Beirut at a time of rising sectarian tension between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. "Things will get worse. There will be a protest move soon," a senior political source close to Hezbollah said. "The climate at today's meeting was very bad. This stand (by the anti-Syrian) majority will not pass without reaction." The collapse of the talks could also complicate passage in government of a U.N. draft of the framework of a special court to try the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. ... http://abcnews.go.com

At least eight people were killed and more than 30 injured when two bombs exploded in a crowded market in central Baghdad, Iraqi security officials say. The blasts, both believed to be caused by car bombs, happened almost simultaneously, the officials said. At least four Iraqis and two US-led coalition troops died in other attacks across Iraq, and an intelligence officer was found dead in Baghdad. US authorities offered a reward of up to $50,000 to find a kidnapped soldier. Iraqi-born Specialist Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a reservist, was abducted by gunmen during a visit to his wife's family on 23 October. Saturday's blasts happened at the busy Shorja wholesale market, the scene of many previous deadly attacks, an interior ministry source said. In other violence, two separate roadside bombs each killed at least one person in Baghdad. A suicide car bomber attacked a police station and killed two people in the town of Zaghinya near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6138666.stm

US military leaders are preparing to recommend changes in strategy on Iraq, America's top military officer says. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Peter Pace said commanders were having their own dialogue and would make the changes that were needed. President George W Bush is to meet members of a panel drawing up proposals for ending the conflict on Monday. Iraq was a key factor in the Republican defeat in mid-term polls and US defence chief Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. Mr Rumsfeld will be replaced by former CIA director Robert Gates, a member of the Iraq Study Group set to report to Mr Bush next week. The White House says it is open to new thinking on the conflict, and correspondents say it would not be surprising if a real change of policy emerged soon. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6138280.stm

Fire swept through a house early Saturday, killing two women and two children, fire officials said.Four people escaped the small, two-story house by the time firefighters arrived about 3 a.m., fire Battalion Chief Mark Klein said. A woman and three children were taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and other, non-life-threatening injuries, Klein said.It was not immediately clear whether the victims were related or how old they were. The children who died were a girl and a boy, Klein said....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228826,00.html

Somalia's transitional government has dismissed as irrelevant an agreement struck between a group of Somali MPs and the Union of Islamic Courts. Spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said the MPs - led by parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan - did not have a mandate to negotiate. The MPs went to Mogadishu a week ago after Arab League mediation efforts in the Sudanese capital Khartoum failed. The seven-point agreement called on both sides to agree to return to talks. It also pledged to maintain an arms embargo and prevent any foreign interference in Somalia. However, the transitional government - which has little influence outside the town of Baidoa where it is based - has called for the arms embargo to be lifted and for a foreign peacekeeping force to protect it. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6139578.stm

Heavy snow blanketed parts of Iowa and Minnesota on Friday, giving many schoolchildren a day off or at least a chance to play in the snow before a delayed school opening.Northern Iowa got up to 9 inches of snow, while Mankato, in southern Minnesota, reported 7 inches. Severe thunderstorms in eastern Iowa produced dime- and nickel-sized hail.In the northeastern Iowa town of Emmetsburg, the snowfall came along with thunder and lightning, in a phenomenon called thundersnow, said Craig Cogil, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Johnston."We checked in up there and they had three-and-a-half inches, and an hour later they had 7," he said.The heavy snow was expected to begin breaking up by afternoon, Cogil said, but some schools closed for the day or opened late because of the weather....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/11/11/wintry.iowa.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us